Archive for August, 2009

by Daniel Carr, M.D., FABPM, Founding Director of the Pain Research, Education and Policy Program, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Pamela Katz Ressler, RN, BSN, HNC, MS-PREP student and PREP-AIRED blog moderator
Every academic field has a handful of texts that are classic, definitive reference works. For pain medicine and regional anesthesia the textbook first prepared by Michael Cousins and Philip Bridenbaugh in 1988, Cousins and Bridenbaugh’s Neural Blockade in Clinical Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, has enjoyed worldwide success as one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive and authoritative monographs on these topics. Professor Cousins has pioneered in the development of pain research and treatment in Australia, and is a Past President of the International Association for the Study of Pain. During his tenure as IASP President he formed a Task Force on Pain Curricula whose recommendations have influenced pain education around the world — including Tufts’ PREP program. Dr Bridenbaugh is Past President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and also the American Society of Regional Anesthesia.
About five years ago Professors Cousins and Bridenbaugh approached Dr Dan Carr, Founding Director of the PREP program, and Professor Terese Horlocker of the Mayo Clinic to join them as co-editors for the fourth edition of this text. Dr Carr is happy to report that the text has now been published! Compared to the prior edition, the number of chapters has expanded from 34 to 51, and the total number of authors from 52 representing 9 countries to 90 (including 68 new ones) representing 15 countries. Of note for those with an interest in acupuncture, it is the first text on regional anesthesia to include a chapter on the effects of needle insertion per se, by two Western physicians who studied acupuncture with Professor Han in Beijing. The book also includes chapters on placebo, psychological aspects of pain, and pain mechanisms.
The very first user review on Amazon’s website states “This edition has been almost rewritten and [a] larger portion is dedicated to pain management and basic pain mechanisms.
Indispensable reference!”

by Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
“Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” said Benjamin Franklin. Celine Dion’s version is, “Rain, Tax (It’s Inevitable).” My version is “Technological Innovation (It’s Inevitable)” when I see yet another announcement about a new social networking site or upgrade to an existing one. Plaxo, the poor stepchild to LinkedIn, had today’s innovation, with the addition of groups that members can set up and invite other members to join. This makes sense when people are congregating around common professional interests. But health issues?
I looked at the profile of someone who had connected to me in Plaxo and learned that he is member of “Living in Pain”. The group’s page provided the following description: “Anyone who has pain from any source, or a caregiver is welcome here. RSD, CRPS, RA, LUPUS , Fibromyalgia or any other condition. We are here to gather support and have fun at the same time.”
Support can have a huge impact on how someone copes with disease. Pain is particularly difficult because there might be no outward manifestation of it, such as with Rheumatoid Arthritis, as I learned from Diane Aronson, the past president of the Roadback Foundation.
But what I questioned here was not the existence of an online support group, but having one for people “living in pain” as part of a professional network. I was surprised people were comfortable being open about their health issues in this way and I wondered if it leads to better support, or the ability to connect online with peers in a more meaningful way than in a less professional setting. Possibly they even discuss how to cope with pain in the workplace. But I am concerned about the stigma of disease in the workplace and if playing membership in such a group in a professional profile is, using the acronym common to the online world, TMI (too much information).